Car construction.



H. M. PFLAGER. CAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION mm JAN. 5. me.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

H. M. PFLAGER.

CAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5. I918.

PatentedSepc. 1?, 1918 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HARRY M. IFLAGrER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGN OR T0 COMMONWEALTH STEE.

COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION 01: NEW JERSEY.

CAR. CONSTRUCTION.

Speeifieation of Letcers Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

T0 et w7wm it may concemrb Be it known that I, HARRY M. PFLAGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have 1nvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Car Constructions, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as Will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, form1ng part of this specrfication, in which Figure 1 is a conventional illustration 111 side elevation showing nny improved car construction.

Fig. 2 is a,top plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the trucks used in my improved construction. F Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 5 is a horizontal line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical Sectional view on line 6 -6 of Fig. 5.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in car construction of the type illustrated in Reissue Letters Patent No. 14,221 dated November 28, 1916, the origina1 of which, Patent No. 1,147,430, was granted July 20,1915.

In the construction shown in said original and reissue' Letters Patent granted to me upon the dates beforementioned, the weight of the car body is supported at the four corners.

My present invention has for its object, to provide means for distributing the load of the car on the journals When unusual track conditions exist. I prefer to provide this means in the form of a spr1ng, or springs, auxiliary to the main carrying springs, the auxiliary springs being capable of greater deflection and greater recil travel than the main springs, so as not to affect the height of the drawbar from the track.

The main carrying springs are preferabl y such as are usually employed in truck construction and have a limited range of travel, while the auxiliary springs which I prefer to use in connection with my present invention are lighter and have greater expansive sectional vie'w on seated home against sonne solid part of the,

structure, this home-seating of said follower from compression and have a tendency to fioat free, the minor springs Will have their energ1es released so as to take up'in part the freedom of the major springs, and compress them to the extent that the minor.sprin,gs

. assist1n supporting the load.

In stating that the minor springs are bottled up during the period when the major sprmgs are carrying the load, it is meant t at the minor or compensating springs are being maintained in normal operations. However, f the major sprmgs are releasedheld uhder compression and the spring seat follower, against which they bea1", is in engagement with a solid part'ofthe body bol- V ster or transom of the car underframe so that, to all intents and purposes, the main supportmg springs, indicated at 11 in the drawings, Will operate as usual under normal conditions in supporting the load of the car. The minor springs become active When rails and after the major springs have pushed the truck Wheels downwardly to the extent of' their expansive movement or at about the time that the major -springs reach or approach a point of exhaustion, at which moment the minor springs begin expanding and perform their function. The action of the minor springs therefore succeeds the exhaustive movement of the major springs over a depression in the track.

In the drawings, I have heretofore referred to Figs. 1 and 2 as conventionally illustrating a car body in which 1 is the body of the car, 2 the wheels, and 3 the track having a depression 3 over which the the truck wheels strike a.depression in the wheels at the right hand side of Fig. 1 are illustrated in full fines as fioating over the depression, and in dotted lines as resting upon the track in the depression.

In Fig. 2, 4 indicates the pivotal point of the truck side frames, these being the points of reaction and showing that the car body is practically supported at its four corners.

Referring now to the details of construction of my present form of truck, 5 indicates the truck side frame, preferably in the form of a steel casting, in which the journal boxes 6 are arranged for the reception of the axles 7 on which the wheels 2 are mount ed. This truck side frame is preferably recessed at its upper central portion and is provided With a spring scat 5 in which is arrangd a king pin 8, said king pin passing through a tie bar 9 connecting the side frames on each side of the car. This king pin is provided With a shoulder or collar 8*, as shown in Fig. 4, and extends upwardly therein so as to provide a connection With a spring follower bearing plate 10 between which and the truck side frame are arranged the major springs 11, which constitute the main supporting springs for the car body. There is a central boss 5" extending up wardly from the spring seat 5 and having telescopic connection with centrally ar ranged spli1ied boss 10 on spring scat follower and bearing 10. This construction permits vertical moVement between tlie parts but prevents independent rotation of the spring scats. The spring scat 10 is preferably concave on its upper surface to form a bearing which coperas with a convex bearing surface 12 formed on the lower face of a casting 12. This casting 12 has a centrally arranged hollow boss 12 which c0- operates with a depending lower boss 13 and casting l3, said casting fitting within and being preferably secured to top and side members of the body transom or bolster 14 forming a part of the car underframe. The casting 13 and box like casting 12 form spring followers between which are ar ranged the minor springs 15. Disposed on each side of the king pin so as to practically balance said casting 12, casting 12 is extended laterally, or provided with fianges 12 at each end thereoi, which fianges are designed to coperate with removable bars or pins 16 passing through the body transom or bolster. The purpose of this is to prevent the accidental displacement of the casting 12. At each side, at its loWer portion, the casting 12 is extended so as to bear upon the lower face of the bolster or body transom.

From the above construction, it Will be noticed that the weight of the car body and its contents is directly carried on the springs 11, but in the event that wheels at one side of either end of the car pass over or rest in a depression, the supporting springs 11 Will force the truck side frame clownwardly until said springs reaoh or approach their point of exhaustion, whereupon the minol springs 15 will be permitted to act and Will ass,ist in distributing the load to the journa S.

It is obvious that miner changes in the size, form and details of the various parts of my improved car construction may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing -from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the following claims.

I claimu 1. In car construction, a main supporting .spring and an auxiliary supporting spring,

the auxiliary spring being capable of greater defiection than the main spring.

2. In car construction, supporting journais, supporting springs, compensating devices for producing downivard pressure on said supporting j ournals when the supporting springs arc released or partially released from their load-carrying functmns, and means for limiting the extent of movement of said compensating devices.

3. In car construction, a car underframe, in combination With truck side frames having pivotal connection with said car underframe, supporting Wheels, supporting springs, and compensating springs arranged on each side of the pivotal connection and normally under compression and whose stored-up energies are utilized to assist in supporting the load in the event that the supporting springs are wholly or partially released from compression.

4. In car construction, a truck Side frame having pivotal relation with the car underframe, said truck side frame being provided with a spring scat to receive suPporting springs, there being a spring follower forming a bearing and having telesCopiC connec. tien With said truck side frame, a member having telescopic connection With the underframe and the compensating springs interposed between said member and said underframe.

5. In car construction, atruck side frame having a spring scat, a spring follower ar ranged in relation to said scat, supporting springs interposed bctween said follower and said scat, a bearing coperating with said follower, and springs interposed between said bearing and said follower, said last mentioned springs being normally under compression and said follower beihg normally in engagement with a portion of the car underframe.

6. In car construction, a truck side frame having pivotal relation to the underframe of the car, said frame being provided With a spring seat, a spring follower in telescopic relation to said spring seac, there being supporting springs interposed betweefl said fol- 5 1ower and sa1d seat, a rocking bearing cooperating with said follower, said bearing being designed to normally engage the underframe of the car, and springs interposed between said bearing and said car underfmme which springs are normally held un- 1 der compression. 7

In testim0ny whereof I hereunt0 afix m signature, this 27th day of December.

HARRY M. PFLAGEE. 

